


A Month Without Blair

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 05:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15113180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Blair has been sent on a profiling course





	A Month Without Blair

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 sentinel bingo prompt 'longing'

Prompt:  longing

A Month Without Blair

by Bluewolf

Jim toyed with his dinner, eating unenthusiastically, and only because he knew he had to. He had no appetite.

And he knew he would have no appetite for the next twenty-two days. Not till Blair came home.

Why... why, _why, **why**_ had TPTB decided to send Blair on that four-week-long profiling course in Olympia? But Jim was pretty sure he knew. Even without training, Blair's anthropology background had given him a pretty accurate way of understanding how a perp's mind worked. In some ways, Blair had been doing a profiler's job since he first entered Major Crime as a civilian ride-along, a 'mere' observer whose observations had helped solve crimes for everyone in the department. Add some 'proper' training to that, and Major Crime would have its own qualified profiler. (There would be some kind of test at the end of the course, but Jim had no doubt that Blair would ace that.) Even though he might occasionally have to work with - or for? - another department, he could probably do most of the work sitting at his desk in Major Crime.

But Blair had already been away for six interminable days, and although he had phoned home every night and they had spent nearly an hour talking each night, Jim's longing for his partner's presence was, he knew, leaving him somewhat depressed.

Luckily the other detectives in MC understood, and Simon was very sympathetic, to the point where he had, that morning, suggested that Jim take some of his vacation time and go to Olympia, where he and Blair could at least have the evenings and weekends together. Jim, however, had refused. He knew from something Blair had said that socializing with the other attendees - in effect, bonding with other profilers - was something that their lecturer encouraged; forming friendships so that they would all have others to call on for advice if they had a problem, once they returned to their own cities. And he understood that. Blair's nightly phone call was late, after he had spent some time in the company of the other potential profilers - Blair said they all knew that their lecturer was keeping a surreptitious eye on them, making sure they were bonding; and Blair had also said that he wasn't the only one who phoned home every night after they had retreated to the solitude of their hotel rooms.

But the strain of keeping his senses dialed down was already telling on Jim... and much to his surprise he found that he was also longing to be able to relax that firm control that kept them 'normal', much though he had, at one time, desperately wanted to be able to turn them off.

Simon was keeping him on desk duty as much as possible, though he had had to check on a couple of crime scenes during the past week. Megan had gone with him to both, but he had managed to use his senses without losing control of them on both occasions. He knew that Megan had given Simon an optimistic report both times; but he had a sneaking suspicion that, despite those reports, Simon was far from sure that Jim was in full control of himself.

If it came down to it, Jim himself was far from sure how much longer he could continue to maintain control. And how would the lecturers in Olympia react to the discovery that Blair's Cascade partner needed him so much? Collapsed unconscious in Blair's absence?

No. Somehow Jim had to get through the next three weeks, and get through them without betraying how little control he had.

***

One week down... three to go.

Blair knew he wasn't the only one of the dozen attendees to wonder why the lecturer was so insistent that all twelve bond. Yes, even in the week they had been there, friendships were developing, but although there was no actual animosity present, there were two of the other attendees that Blair knew he would be happy never to see again, and three more that he could tolerate but whose company he would never choose to seek out. And he was aware that all five would be happy never to see him again. Although they were all trying to hide it from Captain Mayfield, even inside a week the class had basically split into two social groups, one of five and one of seven. Interestingly, the group of five consisted of the men Blair didn't particularly like.

Mayfield, however, was more observant - or watching more closely - than they'd thought, and called them on it over dinner on Saturday night.

Most looked a little embarrassed about it; Blair was made of tougher stuff.

"It wasn't deliberate, sir," he said. "It's a documented fact that after a group reaches a certain size, even if they all know each other well and are sitting around a table enjoying a drink together, it's rare that they'll have just the one conversation. There'll be two, maybe three, different conversations going on. The ones sitting at the edges of two conversations might participate in both, though they're probably paying more attention to one topic than the other. It happens everywhere - in a group of university students discussing the lecture they're just been given, in a group of workmen talking about the work they're doing, in a group of tribal hunters discussing their last kill... in a group of young mothers discussing the problems of dealing with their year-old children. There's a limit to how many people can comfortably hold a conversation with each other, and it's based on how easily each can hear what the others are saying. Twelve is too big a group to maintain a single conversation in a social situation.

"When we have a discussion in class, that's not the same thing; we're deliberately pitching our voices so that everyone can hear. But when we're relaxing, we're talking more quietly, and only two or maybe three people on each side of us can easily hear what's being said. Frankly, sir, I'm surprised that we've only split into two... well, conversational groups; with twelve of us, I'd have said three groups was more likely."

Mayfield looked as if he hadn't been expecting a reply. "Have you studied psychology, Mr. Sandburg?"

"I majored in anthropology and minored in psychology, but it was a theme that came up in both subjects, to help us understand group dynamics. If a big group splinters into two in the course of a conversation, it doesn't mean the members of each group don't like the ones in the other group - just that the talk has split in two different directions - and there is a tendency for the people in each group to - well, agree with each other, or take the conversation in a direction where they're all comfortable with it. Doesn't even mean they disagree with the other conversation, just that they don't feel they have anything to add to it.

"I understand your point about the entire class being a unit; but inside that unit there are two sub-units, formed simply because of the way our conversations have been going."

He noticed that even the five in the 'other' sub-group were nodding in agreement, and mentally high-fived himself. Had nobody ever challenged Mayfield's "Everyone in the class should bond" - as if the sheer chance of their being in the same class would automatically make them all friends?

"There's one other thing, Captain," Blair added. "Sunday is a 'free' day - is there any real reason why those of us who want to can't go home for a couple of hours, or have a family member or friend visit Olympia for the afternoon? Two of our group are married, one is engaged - I know all three are missing the women in their lives; making new male friends isn't really compensating for that. And having someone who is already a friend visiting isn't going to interfere with the bonds we're making with each other. And one of the three is longing to see his children as well."

Mayfield was smiling. "Congratulations, Mr. Sandburg."

Blair was aware of a faint buzz of voices behind him, with a degree of surprise in that buzz, and he realized that although the other eleven men had appreciated someone saying what they all - or certainly most of them - had been thinking, they had all expected him to be disciplined for saying it - not congratulated.

Mayfield went on. "I realize that because you've studied psychology you have a better understanding of what you call 'group dynamics' than possibly any of the others in the group, and that it is actually very probable - " he looked around the class - "that none of you will bond equally well with all of the others in the group.

"What I've been saying about being able to call on each other if you have a profiling problem is true; it is important that you all feel comfortable enough with each other to do that, though it's almost certain that there are some you'll feel more comfortable contacting than the others.

"You are not the first group taking a course here to split into sub-groups; I think every group has. But Mr. Sandburg is the first person in the three years I've been leading classes here who has been able - and willing - to explain why these sub-groups form - and willing to challenge the ruling that you can only socialize with each other inside this month.

"We do realize that it's quite cruel apparently forbidding married men from seeing their wives and children during the month you're here. But, frankly, in a way it's a test; we're always hoping that someone will challenge it - and I'm really pleased that the one who has done so is thinking of others in the group, not himself.

"So yes - if you can go home tomorrow and the next two Sundays, do. It's not really feasible to have family members visiting here, but you can go home for the day. Just make sure you're back in time for the first talk on Monday."

***

As soon as they had finished dinner, ten of the twelve headed for their cars.

Blair knew it would take him roughly two hours to drive home. Fingers crossed he didn't encounter any delays, he nudged his speed up to the legal maximum as he drove north.

Just under two hours later he entered Cascade. He had to drop his speed there, but there were no delays. He pulled into a parking space, locked his car and ran into the building, up the stairs and along the passageway to apartment 307. He fumbled the key into the lock and went in.

Jim was sitting on the sofa watching something on television. He looked up.

"Chief?"

Blair crossed quickly to him and they caught each other in a desperate hug.

After a minute, Jim relaxed his death grip on the smaller man. "Blair? Is everything all right?"

"I'm only here for twenty-four hours," Blair said. "I'll have to head back tomorrow night -  well, early Monday morning would do, but I don't want to risk being late. And I'll be home the next two Sundays as well."

"I thought you said - "

"Yes - turns out it was actually a test of... initiative, I suppose. They've been running various courses for three years now, and apparently I'm the first person to ask why we couldn't go home for the Sundays." He explained quickly, then went on, "And while our phone calls have helped, I've been really missing you."

"God, Chief, I've been missing you as well! Though... will this course help you?"

Blair nodded. "Yes, I'm learning quite a lot."

"In that case... I've been pretty depressed all week, longing for the month to be over, but if it's going to help you, I can put up with you not being here... as long as you can manage home the next two Sundays."

"I don't think there'll be any problem about that. Captain Mayfield sounded quite pleased with me. And of course we'll still phone every night."

"Of course we will!" Jim hesitated, then said, "Chief... would you share my bed tonight? I want to be close to you... "

Blair grinned. "Why not?" he asked.

Jim crossed to the fridge, and took out two beers. He gave one to Blair, and they settled down to catch the last of the movie Jim had been watching.

They didn't need to talk. It was enough that they were together.

 


End file.
